House of the Day: Once home to puppeteer Bil Baird’s marionette theater, this building includes a sunny floor-through apartment that is on the market.

Here is a look at real-estate news in Wednesday’s WSJ:

Blackstone Takes Aim at Asian Real Estate: Blackstone Group is upping the ante in Asia, looking to raise the largest real-estate fund ever devoted to the region at a time when economic growth there shows signs of slowing.

El Paso Steps Up to Plate: With real-estate values on the upswing, the age-old battle between development and preservation is heating up again in some cities. In El Paso, Texas, development has won the latest skirmish.

House of the Day: This 19th-century brownstone on New York’s Upper West Side was restored by the current owners to a single-family home with a number of 21st-century green features.

Resorts Make Pitch for Mexico’s Reputation: To improve Mexico’s image as a drug-war-torn country, struggling resorts are hatching new marketing strategies ranging from sales parties in private homes to online campaigns in which customers tout the area’s safety.

Moody’s Veteran Cracks the Whip — Again: Tad Philipp, the veteran of Moody’s Investors Service’s commercial-mortgage group, who fought back against loose underwriting during the real-estate bubble, has drawn a new line in the sand against similar practices, leaving some Wall Street dealers miffed—and itching to take their business elsewhere.

A Truly Liquid Investment: As the scorching summer winds down, a Texas venture is poised to start building one of the few developments that stands to benefit from extreme heat: a new $70 million water park.

Plots and Ploys: Trump Organization is refinancing the retail and office space in its Trump Tower headquarters building at 725 Fifth Ave. in Midtown Manhattan, replacing an expiring $27 million mortgage with a $100 million mortgage. The upshot for Trump: a markedly lower interest rate—4.2%, down from 7.9%—and roughly $72.4 million in cash.

Defining An East Village Bar: Community leaders in New York’s East Village are grappling with defining the community’s nightlife as the area becomes home to more large bars and clubs catering to young people seeking a raucous night out. Read More »